The U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force have reinstated mandatory influenza vaccinations for new recruits, reversing a policy change implemented earlier this year by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after military health officials linked the absence of flu immunization requirements to outbreaks at several training facilities.
The decision marks one of the first significant public reversals of a health policy adopted under Hegseth's leadership and comes after concerns that respiratory illnesses were affecting military readiness during basic training.
